do orchids really grow from seeds?

[H.D]

naturally , the orchids are grown for flowers, and flowering plants make seeds, but are orchids cultivated through this method?
while searching online the answer seems to be yes, but no one really delves into the matter. if anyone knows about this, I would love to know more about this!
please share how it is done, any article , video is welcome!

[sbrofio]

yes, Hybrids for example are obviously grown from seeds the first time they are done.

[K-Sci]

Try this link:

ORCHID FLASKING: HOW TO GROW ORCHIDS FROM SEEDS A BASIC GUIDE TO GERMINATING ORCHID SEEDS - YouTube

There are a lot of videos on flasking orchid seed.

-Keith

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by H.D

naturally, the orchids are grown for flowers, and flowering plants make seeds, but are orchids cultivated through this method?

The matter is certainly delved into. But some understanding of some biology material can help.

Orchids can often produce new orchids by growing new bulbs or new plants (with roots) attached to the orchid itself. Regardless of where it is connected --- eg. on the rhizome, or on a flower spike, or on an existing bulb ----- this is one way for an orchid to produce new plants -- via this 'vegetative' propagation pathway. The attached baby orchids eventually develop enough (ie. gets big enough, and having enough roots) to become independently grown if we cut the juvenile away from the main plant. These 'new' plants have the same DNA as the main plant. That is - same features. Genetically the same.

They can also be propagated (also vegetative propagation) in labs, where they take particular 'suitable' tissue from a particular individual orchid ..... and cut it all up into bits, and then those bits grow into new juvenile orchids. This is the cloning or 'meristem' propagation method ----- where most of the orchids produced from this approach ---- usually results in orchids having the same DNA as the original plant. But this process doesn't guarantee identical DNA for every produced new plant. So it can be a case of 'luck of the draw' for buyers that actually want a 'copy' of the original. They might not always get what they were looking for.

And then there are seeds. But any individual seed that develops into an orchid will not have the same DNA pattern as another seed from the same batch (or same seed pot) ----- because each seed is an individual - which is along the same lines as un-identical brothers and sisters from human parents (ie. not including 'identical twins'). This is assuming there there is no possibility of having 'identical twin' seeds that within a seed pod.

So - if you're looking for a 'particular' individual orchid ----- then it's unlikely that we can get that orchid by using a seed.

Although - it is known that the SEED-grown off-spring of species orchids typically have very similar features (flowers etc) as the parents (if the two parents come from the same species). This is in 'general'.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Hi H.D

Quick answer is yes, orchids can and do grow from seed. The videos K-Sci posted are a good place to look if you are curious.

A few precautions:

1. If you see orchid seed offered through places similar to E-Bay, Amazon, Etsy, etc., RUN the other direction. These are nearly always fakes, seeds of something that is not an orchid, or sometimes not a seed at all.

2. Growing orchid seeds can be done at home, but it's helpful if, deep in your soul, you REALLY wanted to grow up to be a mad scientist! For most types of orchid, it requires equipment to provide sterile conditions to grow the seed, specialized supplies, and a LOT of time. Most likely, years of time between seed and flowering.

3. There are a few exceptions though. Some species in the orchid genus Cynorkis can become positively weedy (I can't recall which species at the moment). Others here may be able to point you in the right direction if you are interested.

4. I would suggest starting with purchasing a flask of orchid seedlings right after you have developed some skill with growing a particular kind of orchid (maybe Cattleya works for you, or maybe another type). Read up on how to grow flask seedlings, get a flask of a type of orchid that works for you, see if you can grow those seedlings into decent-sized plants. If you do well with that, you can send your own seeds off to a flasking lab, or try to grow them yourself. There is a good "sticky" thread in the propagation forum here on orchidboard for a very easy sterilization method. That is a good place to start if you really want to try it yourself.

Good luck!